You could say Andy Smith was both the Abner Doubleday and Casey Stengel of baseball in Kenosha. Smith not only started the baseball program at old Kenosha (now Kenosha Bradford) High School, but he was also a successful and decorated coach and manager on the field as well.

Smith won WIAA state championships with Bradford in 1963 and Kenosha Tremper in 1969, adding a runner-up finish with Bradford in 1962 and a second runner-up finish in 1964. He added state American Legion titles in 1963 and 1964 and a runner-up finish in 1957.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a two-sport athlete (baseball and basketball), Smith served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster in the European theater.

In 1945, Smith began teaching in Kenosha, beginning at Bradford and staying there until 1963 before moving to Tremper in 1965 and staying until 1979 before retiring.

In 1963 and 1964, Smith managed Post 21 to successive state championships in the American Legion baseball tournament, advancing to the Great Lakes Regional in both seasons.

During a 10-year span in his coaching career, Smith compiled a 134-30 record, a .817 winning percentage, and in 21 years, he had 18 winning seasons. He was selected to the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Kenosha Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

Smith resided in Kenosha until 2001 before moving to Florida, where he died at the age of 86 on July 17, 2003.

The scholarship awarded by the Greater Kenosha Youth Baseball Softball Association to a Kenosha County high school player is named in his honor. Since 2006, the annual wood bat tournament hosted by the Kenosha Merchants Baseball Club and American Legion Post 21 has also been named the Andy Smith Memorial Wood Bat Classic.

Two fitting honors for a great man.

Information for this profile came from the Kenosha News and the Greater Kenosha Youth Baseball Softball Association

Tournament Brochure Available

There is now a PDF file of the tournament brochure available on this website. Just click on Handouts on the left column menu and you will find the document.

2015 Tournament Dates Announced

Dates for the 2015 Andy Smith Memorial Classic will June 26-28 at Kenosha's Nash Park Complex. Brochure is available on the website as well as online registration, new this year.

Past Tournament Champions

2004

Kenosha Merchants

2005

Taylorville, Ill.

2006

Kenosha Merchants and Grayslake, Ill.

2007

Genoa City

2008

Evanston, Ill., and Palatine, Ill.

2009

No Champion – Rain

2010

No Champion – Rain

2011

Highland, Ind.

2012

Highland, Ind.

2013

No Champion - Rain

2014

Elgin, Ill.

Andy Smith Memorial Classic

Beginning in 2007, the tournament hosted by American Legion Post 21 became known as the Andy Smith Memorial Classic. The tournament now bears the name of the legendary Post 21 manager, Andy Smith, who won Legion state championships in 1963 and 1964 as well as WIAA state championships with Kenosha Bradford in 1963 and Kenosha Tremper in 1964.

Smith passed away in 2004. A scholarship being offered to a senior high school baseball player by the Greater Kenosha Youth Baseball-Softball Association also bears his name.

See the biography of Andy Smith elsewhere on the home page to learn more about this remarkable man,